Teril's Fire: A Mate Index Alien Romance (The Mate Index Book 12)

by S. J. Sanders

  “Do you know in what direction she rode out?” Grish asked as he slid into the pilot’s seat.

  “Yes, due northeast into the timber farm,” Borth replied in a broken voice as he dropped down beside him.

  “She went straight toward the volcano?” Grish snarled in alarm.

  His brother dragged a hand down his face wearily. “It was the route that we advised her to take if she needed to escape from the emergency exit, was it not?”

  Snarling an oath, Grish initialized flight, the flyer steadily rising in the sky. They were only just aloft, heading toward the lumber fields, when an explosive crack shook the world around them, the burst sending the flyer spinning out of control.

  Muscles straining, Grish fought against the controls, ignoring the panicked barks and bellows of the gorthals in the back. At his side, Borth grabbed the co-pilot emergency controls and in tandem, they drew upon their emergency training to stabilize the flyer.

  Putting the flyer back on the route, he increased the engine speed, eyes on the column of smoke and fire bursting from the mouth of the volcano. The ash was already starting to fall, but he wasn’t worried about that. The engine possessed advanced fine-particle filters. The ash would not bring down the flyer. What he was more concerned about were the ballistics that would potentially be flying through the air at them.

  The bright flare of magma spilling from the volcano became more visible the closer they flew. Streaking over the forest below, however, was filling him with concern as he realized that the farm grounds were right in the path of the lava flow. As the acres of trees passed farther and farther behind them, he felt a low anxiety burning in his belly.

  How were they going to find their mate in time?

  “There, a flash of gold… Do you see it? That is Morosh. I am certain of it,” Borth exclaimed suddenly, his hands flying over the controls, taking full command of the landing sequencing before Grish could react.

  Shaking himself from the sorrow that had descended over him, Grish squinted against the gloom, his heart picking up as he saw the familiar flash of wooly golden fur. His breath seizing in his chest, he powered up the blasters and aimed them to a small stretch of land within close proximity to the sighting.

  Although the scans on the ship weren’t working as well as he would like, a sharp breath of relief shot out of him when he was able to pick up the faint signatures of the gorthal, their mate and another directly to the side of the flyer.

  Snarling low in his throat, Grish scanned the tree-line for an open landing area. He could level the trees, but it would attract too much attention. His eyes immediately settled on a small clearing a short distance away. It really was not quite big enough for their ship, but he could make it work. He had done so in smaller spaces when he did emergency evacs during his service in the fleet. They would drop down in stealth mode so as not to alert the bounty hunter, but would only have a limited amount of time to locate Crystal.

  Chapter 27

  Crystal blinked, a wave of nausea flowing through her. She wanted to close her eyes and wait for it to pass. Fuck, her head hurt. Eyes tearing up, she felt the brush of something warm against her face. Despite the pain in her head, she turned it to look over at the gold muzzle mouthing her anxiously.

  What was she doing outside on the ground? Hand shaking, she lifted it and set it against the fuzzy fur as everything came flooding back to her.

  Nikana.

  She couldn’t just lie around; she had to get out of there. Groaning, she sat up and coughed, powder puffing from her lips. Glancing down at herself, her mind blanked out in horror as she stared down at the white ash coating her. She glanced over at Morosh, and while it wasn’t as obvious on the gorthal due to his thick wool, she could see signs of his coat dulling from it. Ash… It was falling from the sky!

  With a muffled cry, she stumbled to her feet, her hand gripping the reins. Morosh backed up slowly, his weight helping to pull her up. She wanted to cry in gratitude and made a mental note to thank the breeder who offered him to her. Although the animal was obviously terrified and ready to bolt, he hadn’t left her side.

  “Good boy,” she whispered, her hand patting his thick cheek.

  Looking around slowly, a shudder overcame her, her eyes trailing to the mountain—or rather the volcano spewing smoke and heat into the sky. Tiny red embers lit the pyroclastic cloud rolling out from the summit. Her nostrils flared, taking the scent of sulfur and the horrifying smell of burning trees.

  The lumber farm was on fire!

  “Fuck!” she hissed, scurrying around the side of the gorthal, hands gripping the saddle.

  “Do not move,” Nikana’s voice ordered sharply.

  Muscles tensing to the point of shaking with terror, Crystal froze, only turning her head enough to look over at the Morith female stumbling from a hoverbike settled between two trees. The blaster pointed at her didn’t so much as waver as the female stalked toward her. Crystal licked her lips. This was insane!

  “Nikana, please,” she croaked. “I don’t know what I did but please don’t do this. We need to get out of here. The trees are on fire and…”

  “Be silent, human,” Nikana growled, any trace of anything maternal or friendly that Crystal had once seen absent and replaced with a hard, merciless stare. “I admit that I was not eager to come out of retirement. I am content with my teahouse, but as I said, business has been a little slow lately. The Calystii offered a considerable bounty on you—one I could not pass up.” A tiny flash of remorse flashed over the female’s face. “It is nothing personal. I really do like you, and it is true that I want to see more females arrive here. But this… this is business. You understand, I am sure. We are both females who have done what we needed to do to survive.”

  “But I’ve never hurt anyone. Please, we can pay you. We just pulled in a good harvest—I’ll buy out my contract. I just want to be with my mates.”

  Nikana snorted. “Even with your harvest, it would not be more than a pittance compared to the hundreds of thousands of credits I am getting in exchange for you. I admire your attempt to negotiate, but no. Come quietly, human. If I need to shoot, I will. Make no mistake about that.”

  “What’s wrong with you? We’re standing in the path of an active volcano!” Crystal snapped. “Do you have a death wish? We should be running for our fucking lives and you have a blaster trained on me.”

  The female shrugged. “A bounty comes with risks, but it always pays off. Now are you coming quietly, or do I lame you, possibly paralyze you, and drag you away?”

  Crystal took a step back and heard a blaster firing up as the Morith’s eyes narrowed mercilessly on her. The sound was covered by a crackling roar, and Crystal’s eyes swung up, fixing on the ball of flaming molten rock shooting through the air.

  “Oh my fucking gods,” she whispered as Nikana’s gaze also shot up.

  Hugging the side of her gorthal and ducking low, Crystal’s entire body shook as the fireball hit a nearby cluster of trees. Flames burst, and sparks fell dangerously around them. Nikana dodged, her eyes widening at the immediate danger threatening them.

  A burst of plasma fire came from out of nowhere, catching the Morith off guard as it struck the tree just behind her, grazing her in the process. The female hissed in pain, her hand clutching at the stripe of blackened fabric on her side as she bared her teeth at someone off to Crystal’s left.

  “Drop your weapon and back away, Nikana,” Borth growled.

  The Morith hissed, but as he raised another blaster and the laser light of a plasma rifle fastened on her from another angle, she tossed her blaster aside and backed away, her eyes glinting with promised vengeance.

  Crystal jumped as she was suddenly picked up off her feet, but the gentle rumble that came from behind her swept over her in a welcome familiarity. Grish’s solid arms tightened around her as he shuffled her out of harm’s way. She tightened her own grip on Morosh’s reins so that he moved away with them, the animal snorting and tossing his he
ad uneasily, his dark eyes rolling with fear.

  “Easy,” Grish rumbled.

  She wasn’t sure if that was more for her benefit or for the animal’s, but she attempted to regulate her breathing despite her terror. She could see a red light infusing the forest as an intense heat licked over her skin. Fire was racing up trees, but she was fairly certain that she could see the destructive glide of magma as it slowly consumed everything in its path. She panted, her lungs burning from the gasses released into the air. She wanted to flee as her fear climbed, but Grish’s arms kept her firmly in place as he backed them through the trees until they exited into a small clearing.

  Just ahead of them, Borth paced backward, his weapon still leveled on Nikana, providing cover as Grish lifted her completely off her feet. Then she was smothered between the press of wooly gorthals, Morosh making a plaintive sound as he was tugged in between his larger stablemates.

  The moment they were in, Grish’s hand slammed against a panel, closing the cargo bay before racing into the passenger area with Crystal still against his chest. Stepping over a sleeping Matida, he set her quickly in a chair and strapped her in before leaping into the pilot’s seat. She wheezed, attempting to draw in big lungfuls of the clean, filtered air within the flyer, her eyes fastened on the front viewing screen.

  Borth was nearly at the nose of the flyer, his blaster firmly on Nikana, when the female erupted into action. With a piercing shriek that was common to her species, she lunged at him, her hands gripping his weapon as she attempted to rip it from his hand. They fought for the weapon for only a second. Although Borth had been caught by surprise, his greater bulk allowed him to fling the female aside, losing his grip on the blaster in the process. Crystal watched the female fall to the ground, the blaster hitting the ground near her as Borth spun around and hurried to the flyer.

  The door slid open as he gripped the opening with one hand and swung himself inside, bypassing the ramp. Grish’s hand slammed on the control, initiating take off, and the door sealed shut with the loud rumble of the engines firing up. The red glow was rapidly approaching, pyroclastic bombs falling, striking trees, some of them already on fire and adding to the chaos. Volcanic lightning flickered through the darkening sky, but Crystal could still clearly see Nikana as the female scrambled for the weapon and leaped to her feet. Raising the blaster, she fired several times at the flyer, and it rocked as one shot made contact. Grish’s lips thinned, but he increased velocity as the flyer shot away from the female.

  Crystal couldn’t look away. She watched as the female lowered her arm, her head snapping left and right as the fire and magma advanced toward her. With a choked cry, Crystal shut her eyes against the sight of the female being consumed and was grateful that she couldn’t hear the screams as the flyer sped away.

  She didn’t open her eyes again until she felt the nudge of Matida’s scaled nose on her hand. Her cheeks felt wet as she looked down at the tantogal staring up at her with bright golden eyes, and she lifted a hand to wipe them away. Clearing her throat, she looked back at the viewing screen as the flyer drifted over the land, and she was able to see their own farmhouse. Already flames were licking at the outer edge of their property, and she blinked back tears.

  Borth glanced back and, noting her expression, he unfastened himself from the copilot chair and pushed back between the seats until he was able to crouch in front of her.

  “Are you well, katna?” he murmured, his large hand cupping the side of her face. Worry darkened his amber red eyes, and she dredged up a smile.

  “Yes,” she rasped. “My throat hurts a little… from the gasses, I think, but I’m okay. The farm though…” Her voice dropped away as tears threatened again, and she swallowed thickly.

  Leaning forward, Borth nuzzled her, his breath hot on her ear.

  “Everything can be replaced. The harvest has been pulled in, and any damage that the volcano does will make the land even more fertile for planting. All that matters to us is that you are safe.”

  She nodded. “What if the house burns?”

  “Then we will build a better one,” Grish replied from the pilot’s seat.

  He glanced back at her over his shoulder and gave her a smile full of love that had her heart stuttering. The same love she could see reflected back to her through Borth’s eyes.

  They were right. Despite everything, they had each other.

  “And you do not need to worry about the Calystii,” Borth said, his smile widening. “Nikana was so eager to collect the bounty that the Imperial family do not know you are here, and the Megaraisi Corporation will no longer be a problem anywhere near this territory. You will be safe, katna.”

  She let out a shaky breath, relief making her limbs go weak.

  “Safe,” she whispered in awe. Blinking away her tears as their house faded away into the distance, she looked over at her males. “Where are we going to go now?”

  “We have friends,” Grish replied. “I have sent Nargis and Talimia in their direction already when I realized what was happening. They will meet us there. The Arobis and their mate will have space. We will contact them once we are within range so they will know to expect our arrival.”

  “How long do you think it’ll be before we will know when we can go home?” she asked softly.

  Borth raised his brows and shrugged. “Home is wherever our mate is. If you will still have us.”

  A soft laugh escaped her, and she nodded as she looked into the rough, loving faces of her males. There was little softness about the Terils physically, but their eyes and the gentle smiles on their lips conveyed it.

  She didn’t want to spend another moment without knowing that they were hers in every way.

  “I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

  Epilogue

  Crystal had objected to needing a ceremony to accept her mates. After everything they had been through, and the fact that they were intruding on the Arobi and their wonderful mate, Hayley, she didn’t want anyone to go through the trouble.

  It was enough that they were together.

  To her surprise, when they announced their intention to mate, Hayley and one of her formidable-looking mates, a male with scars lacing him, took to the kitchen with the insistence that it was an occasion worthy of a celebratory feast.

  And that was how she found herself in the midst of a small mating ceremony among her new friends, and their Wanit friends, who had also made it to the safety of the Arobi’s property.

  Talimia was all smiles as she and Hayley helped Crystal get ready, the Wanit female producing a beautiful hair wreath, not of flowers but golden leaves and the sort of nuts and berries common in the late autumn on Antari Minor. With their help, and a borrowed robe from Hayley, Crystal felt as beautiful as a real bride when she joined her mates outside beneath an arch wrapped in ribbons and clusters of the remaining splendors of autumn.

  The simple declaration of their intention to mate before their family and friends was greeted with cheers, the pouring of copious amounts of a sort of unfamiliar mulled wine that enchanted her taste buds, and a feast in their honor that she wouldn’t have imagined just days earlier when they were escaping with their lives.

  Her heart felt full of joy when at last they retired. Every moment during the day, every pleasure and happiness had culminated in this moment now that she was kneeling nude on the bed between her mates.

  Their eyes caressed her, heating her flesh without them even needing to touch her. She needed their touch. She needed to feel totally claimed by them, now and forever. She wiggled, knowing that her sex was releasing pheromones by the way her mates’ nostrils flared and their pupils dilated in awareness.

  They did not reach for her, though.

  Instead, they reached to a spot just under their jaw at their throat and she watched in fascination as each male placed a dark nail beneath a thin ridge. Then she saw it wasn’t a ridge in their scales, but a thin barb flattened between them. They winced as they tugged the barb free, small dro
plets of blood appearing on the scales. She nearly shot off the bed, thinking they were injured, but Borth held her still and Grish gave her a sweet smile.

  Holding the barb out for her inspection, his deep voice rolled over her.

  “A Teril is only born with one chance, a single barb with which he can pierce his mate and bind us with the released bonding chemicals. Will you accept our barbs?”

  Relaxing, she eyed the barb, but nodded. She wanted it. The idea of being pierced was surprising, but she wanted this with every part of her being.

  A smile spread across Grish’s face, and he tilted her head back gently.

  “Just remain there, like that,” he murmured.

  The prick of first one barb and then the other made her eyes water, but no more than the prick of a needle. Immediately following, however, was a hot rush of desire as whatever chemicals were in the barbs were unleashed into her body. Bonding chemicals swept through her, preparing her body, as heat gathered in her sex. It was almost like the chemical release she’d experienced the first time Borth and Grish claimed her together during the height of her fertile period.

  She had been a little disappointed when, during the harvest, her monthly had come, but in retrospect there was too much to be done to be thinking about babies right now.

  Although their farmhouse had been spared from the lava flow and fires, much of their property—acres upon acres of land—hadn’t fared so well when the reports came in the day before. She had arranged for birth control the same day, and it was partially why she felt she could safely enjoy the thrill of hormones punching through her system in reaction to the dual stings.

  Her flesh heating unbearably, she twisted between them, her hips jerking in desperate need for relief. Her mates didn’t lose any time embracing her between them, mouths dropping upon her, eagerly tasting her body as she writhed, little whines escaping her that would have been mortifying if they weren’t all lost in the lust soaring through them. Her pheromones were feeding their need until they were nearly as mindless as she was.